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NewsThe Unexpected Beauty of Croydon

Tue 16 Feb 2021 at 5:27pm
Heathfield Gardens
One of Croydon's most beautiful parks year-round, Heathfield is especially vibrant in springtime. The house is surrounded by ornamental gardens, water features and woodland. Heathfield House was owned by Raymond Riesco until 1964 and is now used as a training centre by Croydon Council. I saw some bumblebees at Heathfield ...

Wed 03 Feb 2021 at 8:45pm
Three meadows of Croydon
There are three meadows in the Woodside, South Norwood and Selhurst area, approximately north east of Croydon town centre. Two of them only became public parks in the 1990s, meaning they don't appear in the book Croydon's Parks: An Illustrated History, which was published in 1988. Brickfields Meadow Brickfields ...
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Sun 24 Jan 2021 at 11:05pm
Croydon in a winter wonderland
Today it snowed!Sadly it then sleeted, so the snow didn't stick around long. It brought back memories of other times it's snowed here. 2008The oldest snow photos I have in Croydon are from April 2008. I remember that I'd been in Bristol the previous day sitting in the sun ...

Sat 23 Jan 2021 at 12:15am
Highs and lows of Croydon
Today I found Croydon's highest point, in Sanderstead Plantation. It could be better signposted, but I appreciate the effort that somebody has gone to in marking it. It's inspired me to look at a topographic map and find out how high the other high and low points of Croydon ...

Sun 17 Jan 2021 at 7:48am
Wet wet wet
I've been slipping, sliding and squelching my way through Croydon's green spaces recently. Every time I come home, I bring souvenirs with me, in the form of mud. My trouser legs look like Jackson Pollock has had a go at them with some brown paint. This time of year, ...

Wed 13 Jan 2021 at 7:48am
Fairytale of Old Croydon
What fairytales could you imagine taking place in Croydon? I think many people would be stumped by this question. Perhaps the Pied Piper of Hamelin or The Ugly Duckling at Waddon Ponds? There are two particular sites in Croydon which evoke fairytale stories of princesses for me, and both ...

Mon 11 Jan 2021 at 7:48am
The rise and rise of parakeets
We are surrounded by wildlife, even in large urban areas. Some species have adapted particularly well to living among humans, but not all of them are loved for it. I am going to write a bit about some of these species, starting with rose-ringed or ring-necked parakeets. The photo above ...

Sat 02 Jan 2021 at 7:48am
Coombe Wood
If I was to compile a list of the most beautiful places in Croydon, Coombe Wood would undoubtedly be close to the top. It's an obvious choice to those who know it, but not everyone knows it's there - I lived nearby for a number of years before I first ...

Thu 31 Dec 2020 at 7:48am
Views from up high
Croydon town centre may not meet everyone's beauty standards, but it's certainly not boring. Today I've been reading the book Croydon from Above: 1870 to 1999, published by Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society just before the turn of the millennium. Most of the photos in the book were taken from ...

Tue 29 Dec 2020 at 3:25pm
Relics of past Croydon transport
There's no denying that Croydon is extremely well connected, with trams, National Rail, Overground and numerous buses serving the borough. However, if you'd travelled the current Overground route to West Croydon in the early 19th century, you'd have needed a boat, as it was the Croydon Canal. If you'd visited ...